Bill Foulkes

One of the Busby Babes who survived the Munich air disaster, Foulkes captained Manchester United in the period immediately after the tragedy. Born 5 Jan 1932 in St Helens. Died 25 November

Bill Foulkes was a big strong man – in all respects he was your typical centre-half; a stopper. Around the club people looked up to him. The young lads – if they didn't do what they were told they got a crack, he was that sort of guy, he could put you in your place. But that was the way he was – an ex-miner but a great centre-half, a hard man.

From my position as goalkeeper it was great to play behind him but if things weren't going right, and someone was having a good game playing against you, like a top centre-forward, you could say: "Come on, get it sorted, Bill" and he would get it sorted. That's the attitude he had.

When we won the European Cup in 1968 Bill scored the winner against Real Madrid that got us to the final at Wembley. No one expected it. As Bobby [Charlton] said at Bill's funeral: "What the hell was he doing in their penalty area?" Paddy Crerand threw the ball to George [Best] and George went on one of his mazy runs down the right wing and Bill, for some unknown reason, ran from our penalty box to their box and of course he was unmarked because no one had ever seen him there before.

The way it panned out – 10 years after Munich – for Bill to put us in the final and Bobby Charlton being the captain, it was the way it was supposed to be. If I remember rightly Munich was never spoken about in the dressing room [before the final against Benfica] because you knew that wasn't the thing to do. And ironically, when that final whistle went [United won 4-1 in extra-time], we all went to Matt Busby [manager], Bobby and Bill. It was just something that came over you.

I was very proud to meet Bill and to see what kind of man he was to go through everything that went on in those years. What more can you say about the man?Alex Stepney, former Manchester United goalkeeper 1966-78

María de Villota

The Spanish racing driver, the daughter of former Formula One star Emilio De Villota, had been a test driver for the Marussia F1 team before a life-threatening crash in 2012. She recovered but died the next year. Born 13 Jan 1980 in Seville. Died 11 October

It is still hard for me to write of Maria in the past tense. Every time I think of her, I see that lovely smile. I remember her spirit, her strength and her determination. She was simply an amazing lady.

María was forging a career for herself in F1, not to prove a point about female drivers but because she simply loved racing. This is why I got on so well with her. We weren't two female drivers trying to take on the male-dominated world of F1, we were two women with the same passion for racing.

On the day of her accident I was at the Williams factory. It shocked us all, we are so lucky in this day and age that accidents in F1 are rarely fatal due to the advancements in safety and track designs. As soon as we knew she would pull through, I knew she would be OK. María had an incredible strength and spirit for life.

Leading up to my F1 young driver test at Silverstone she told me that I would be out on track for both of us. She told me to go out there and show that a woman was capable in F1. She knew it, she was on course to do it and that is why it was so important for her that I carried on what she had started.

I carried her logo on my helmet, a small bright orange star. Since her accident, María had married, written a book and had talked of starting a family.

She was so positive, telling me often how happy she was to simply be alive. It seemed like she had been through the worst and had come out even stronger. Her sudden death shocked me to the core. I still can't quite believe it. I try to focus only on the positives. I was lucky to call such an amazing lady my friend. She wrote her story, she has left her legacy behind. She is gone but will never ever be forgotten.Susie Wolff, Williams Formula One test driver

Steve Prescott

Former St Helens, Hull and Wakefield player who also represented England and Ireland. Honoured with an MBE in 2010 for services to rugby league and charity after raising more than £500,000 via his foundation having been diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer in 2006. Born 26 Dec 1973 in Lancashire. Died 9 November

As well as everything he had done in the seven years since his diagnosis, he was a great rugby league player. It was that winning mentality that he had that took over when he really needed it to, when he was diagnosed with cancer. He was somebody who would not accept defeat.

He was given just six months to live but he always said that cancer would not get him, and it didn't. He died from complications following pioneering surgery he had to save his life. But his decision to go ahead with the surgery sums Steve up – unfortunately it didn't work for him but the surgery itself was a success and will give hope to a lot of people.

The week that we did the Paris and London marathons in aid of his foundation was the best week ever. But we didn't just run the marathons. We did Paris, then we cycled to Calais, rowed the English Channel, cycled to London and started the next marathon. The September before I had done the Great North Run and when I got to the end I said I couldn't imagine having to run back to the start again. The next day Steve phoned me about his challenge. I was like "right, I'm in". He [was] the kind of guy that you can't say no to. You put yourselves in Steve's shoes and you think how hard doing what we do is and how much harder it has to be for him, and how can you refuse? I thoroughly enjoyed it. Without someone like Steve, you would struggle to get through it, but we did because of him. He was an inspirational man.Paul Sculthorpe, former Great Britain international

Cliff Morgan

Former Cardiff, Wales and Lions fly-half who toured South Africa in 1955, captaining them to victory in the third Test. Moved effortlessly behind the microphone – his most famous commentary being the 1973 Barbarians try against the All Blacks and awarded the OBE and CVO for his contributions to broadcasting. Born 7 April 1930 in Rhondda. Died 29 August

Cliff was a very honest, fun-loving man. He was always very humble; his knowledge of rugby was outstanding but more importantly, his concern for the welfare of everyone he came across really stood out.

I would put him up there with Wales's all-time great players, without a shadow of a doubt. His ability was second to none and I would rank him in the top half a dozen players of all time. I don't think he realised how good of a player he was and how marvellous a person he was.

Everyone spoke so eloquently about him at his funeral, including his former colleagues from the BBC. He reached the very top of that profession and I've never met anyone, from any walk of life, [who had] a bad word to say about him.Dennis Gethin, WRU president

Sir Henry Cecil Born 11 Nov 1943 in Aberdeen. Died 11 JuneOne of the greatest flat-racing trainers in history, Cecil was knighted in 2011

Christian Benitez Born 1 May 1985 in Quito, Ecuador. Died 29 JulyEcuadorian striker who had a spell with Birmingham City

Jean Pickering MBE Born 4 Jul 1929 in London. Died 25 MarchTrack and field athlete, who went on to raise money to support young athletes with husband Ron Pickering

David Coleman OBE Born 26 Apr 1926 in Cheshire. Died 21 DecemberBroadcaster who worked for the BBC for more than 40 years

Bert Trautmann Born 22 Oct 1923 in Bremen. Died 19 JulyFormer paratrooper who played more than 500 times for Manchester City

Acer NethercottBorn 28 Nov, 1977 in Newmarket. Died 26 JanuaryCox who won silver at the 2008 Olympic Games in the men's eight

Graham MurrayBorn 6 January 1955 in Sydney, Australia. Died 28 JulyMurray was an Australian rugby league player and coach at the highest level of the game.

Emmanuel McDonald BaileyBorn 12 August 1920, Williamsville, Trinidad. Died 4 DecemberMcDonald Bailey competed for Great Britain at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics where he won the bronze medal. Between 1951 and 1956 he was the joint world record holder for the 100m at 10.2 seconds.

Jo PittBorn 22 February 1979 in Huntly, Scotland. Died 2 MayPitt was a Scottish equestrian Paralympian. Despite suffering from right-sided hemiplegic cerebral palsy, Pitt represented Great Britain at the 2004 Athens Paralympics and won the British dressage winter championship in April 2013, just a month before her untimely death.

Bill Hoskyns Born 19 March 1931 in London. Died 4 AugustHoskyns was a British fencer who appeared at six Olympic Games. He won silver at the 1960 and the 1964 games and he is the last British fencer to have won a medal at the Olympic Games. He also won the World Championship in 1958.

Ron DaviesBorn 25 May 1942 in Holywell, Wales. Died 24 MayDavies was a Welsh centre forward who played for clubs including Southampton, Portsmouth and Manchester United. He represented Wales 29 times and scored 9 goals.

Dave HicksonBorn 30 October 1929 in Salford. Died 2 JulyHickson was a footballer who played for clubs including Everton, Aston Villa and Liverpool. Hickson is only one of three players to have played for the three Merseyside clubs still in existence.

Mike Denness OBEBorn 1 December 1940 in Lanarkshire. Died 19 MayDenness was a Scottish cricketer who went on to captain England and become an ICC match referee. He was awarded an OBE for services to sport.

Helen Elliot Born 20 January 1927 in Scotland. Died 12 JanuaryElliot was a Scottish table tennis player. Elliot won the world doubles championship twice in 1949 and 1950.

Dean PowellBorn 21 May 1966 in Dudley. Died 10 SeptemberPowell spent 25 years in boxing as a trainer, cornerman and matchmaker. He worked with Lennox Lewis, Joe Calzaghe and Amir Khan.

David OatesBorn June 1962 in Blackpool. Died 3 FebruaryOates was a sports commentator for the BBC for more than 25 years. He covered 3 football World Cups, three Rugby League World Cups, two Commonwealth Games and the 2012 summer Olympics.

Sean EdwardsBorn 6 December 1986 in London. Died 15 OctoberEdwards was a professional racing driver who won the Nurburgring 24 Hours race in 2013. He was killed during a private racing session at Queensland Raceway.

Brian GreenhoffBorn 28 April 1953 in Barnsley. Died 22 MayGreenhoff was an English footballer who played for Manchester United, Leeds United and Rochdale. He represented his country 18 times.

Donna Hartley-Wass MBEBorn1 May 1955 Southampton. Died 7 JuneHartley-Wass was a British athlete who won the bronze medal in the 4x400m relay at the 1980 Olympic games.

Christopher Martin-Jenkins MBEBorn 20 January 1945 in Peterborough. Died 1 JanuaryMartin-Jenkins was a cricket journalist and the longest serving member of the Test Match Special team on BBC Radio.

Dave ThomasBorn 16 August 1934 in Newcastle. Died 27 AugustThomas was a Welsh professional golfer and well-known golf course architect. He won many tournaments across the globe and finished runner-up at the Open Championship in 1958 and 1966.

Nílton SantosBorn 16 May 1925 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Died 27 NovemberSantos was a Brazilian footballer who is regarded as being as being one of the first full backs to participate in attacking moves. He was a World Cup winner and played for Brazil 75 times.

• This article was amended on 31 December 2012. The original said that Bill Foulkes was born in Manchester and that Bert Trautmann was a former Luftwaffe pilot. Both errors have been corrected.